How did my English odyssey go during another World Cup semi-final | Philip Cornwall | Soccer

S wearing made us all fools – though sometimes in the best of ways. Russia 2018 was supposed to be the first major tournament in Europe that I had missed since not going to Italia 90, but Gareth Southgate had other ideas.

I was there at Euro 96 when he did not "just belt, son" against Germany, as his mother said, I saw him there. England come out on penalties in the last four of the tournament. But an odyssey inspired by a semi-final World Cup will eventually lead another, provided my flights take me to Moscow at the hour Wednesday afternoon. There were wonderful times on the way – my biggest regrets are the matches I missed – but it was undeniably a tortuous wait

Logically, 1990 being the first tournament of my life not dominated by the Exams I should have been to Italia 90. My first match in England had taken place five years earlier, seeing Gary Lineker score his first international goal against the Republic of Ireland. Many of these exams had been in Italian too. Then, a work opportunity was born that made London stay "smart" option; Although it turned out to be very professional, when Bobby Robson's team went to Turin, as a fan of England, "smart" left me on the alert. I would not be caught again.

Two years later, then, I was in Stockholm when David Platt finally scored our first goal of the Euro 92, and 1-0 at halftime we were on at the edge of another semifinal. OK, supporting the 0-0 in Malmö against Denmark and France had been painful, but now, Graham Taylor's team was back on track. Sweden and Tomas Brolin, however, derailed and, at least, far from home, this was the beginning of a trend and not a sudden.

The worst was to follow – I finally went to a World Cup in the USA 94 but without a team to support – before the second summer of hope and wonder of my generation, at home in 1996. At that time, it was not just my compatriots. Five non-English matches at 92 euros, crowned by the last defeat of Denmark against Germany, had given me the tournament bug, confirmed by USA 94.

Seeing 12 games in a home final in six of the eight venues remains a valuable experience and commemorated at least twice a day via a "Newcastle Euro 96" key ring. Still, the vivid memories of England 's exit after the penalty and the missing penalty would be the only one in a semifinal to support me for two more decades.

The last memory of Wednesday, June 26, 1996 – of the long silent march at the Wembley Park subway station and aggressively threatened for trying to find a line of money – unfortunately regrets what followed too much often, given the behavior of some of the supporters of the team. In Marseille in 1998, there was a tear gas blow; The Euro 2000 was as pathetic in the field as in the field, as the moment I heard a Brummie say to a Belgian bartender: "If it was not for the English, you'd be a Kraut. " If you follow England because you like football and the team rather than because you hate other countries, you end up making a lot of excuses on behalf of others; the desire to show that all English fans are not obsessed with the Second World War and Northern Ireland becomes a justification for supporting everything.

"All" includes consecutive quarter-final defeats against Portugal, Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup; Watch Italy lose a quarter-final against Spain at Euro 2008 (because I'm going even if England does not), then see the Azzurri win a four-year later, against Roy Hodgson's team in Kiev. It will then go through the group stages in 2010 and the team will get closer to elimination even before I arrive in South Africa, just in time for a 4-1 defeat to Germany, with the disenchanted goal of Frank Lampard.

I was not there all the time. In 2001-2002, my employers imploded and I feared for my job, so I did not go to South Korea and Japan; I found out that, yes, I was going to be fired an hour after our defeat in the quarterfinals against Brazil. Brazil 2014 was impossible at the national level. Two years ago, however, I was in Nice for the easiest last-minute game that everyone could have asked for. I still have my unused coupons to get back my tickets for the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the English final of Euro 2016 …

Iceland's win n & # 39; That's not why I did not go to Russia. the reason was his hooligans and two doses of politics, namely the awarding in December 2010 finals to the country in the first place and the international situation. Donetsk, where I happily watched England at Euro 2012, is now a war zone. Just in case, and certain that I was just getting the traditional Fifa / Uefa refund for unused coupons from England, I made every effort for the semifinal and the final.

Now, finally, maybe it's time to remove that key ring from Newcastle Euro 96. Thanks, Gareth.